Chapter 451: One Ring Within Another
Zhou Shuren frowned and said, "I'm working hard to smooth things over with officials at all levels in Jinzhou in order to reduce trouble and spend more time with you during the birth."
Zhulan has been pregnant for more than nine months and is about to give birth. He is worried for a moment.
Things were pretty good these few days, and officials in Jinzhou didn't dare to take any action easily. But today they are in a state of unrest.
Zhulan saw that the only person who could make Zhou Shuren so depressed could be the emperor who was very close this time. It took less than a day to get from Jinzhou to the capital, half a day by carriage, and less than two hours by fast horse.
Mrs. Song is not in the main courtyard now. Originally, Manyue should have returned to the main courtyard, but Zhulan was worried about Zhao's attitude towards the child, so she asked her to stay for a few more days.
Zhulan, without Mrs. Song by her side, asked quietly, "So what decree was issued?"
Zhou Shuren gritted his teeth and said, "In the past, the Pinggang Maritime Affairs Department was responsible for all maritime taxes, bypassing the local prefecture and going directly to the court. Now it is returned to the prefecture, and the accounts are checked by the prefecture before entering the capital."
Zhulan, "......."
Should she say, the emperor is awesome? He would drop a bomb from time to time, and his decree would really make a big difference.
In the past two years, maritime trade has been frequent and tax revenues have been considerable. This can no longer be called fat meat. I don’t know how many forces have been fattened in the past two years. Now it has become a bottleneck for maritime affairs, which is very good.
Zhu Lan said with great regret: "This is the reason why you were thrown here. If I remember correctly, you were given a warning when you went to Pinggang."
All in all, it's been just over a month.
In fact, it is not good to be close to the capital. Some of the eighth-rank officials are from aristocratic families. Either my father is powerful, or my grandfather, uncle, or something like that. Moreover, these officials are particularly arrogant and no one is willing to submit to anyone else.
So what if Zhou Shuren is the emperor's confidant? Their family members are also important and are all in the capital. They know how to make trouble in moderation and are not afraid of the emperor knowing it. On the contrary, they hope that the emperor will know it. Zhou Shuren is not like that.
In the past two months, no one bothered Zhulan because she was pregnant and someone in the Zhou family had a difficult delivery.
Zhou Shuren is different. He wants to deceive these arrogant people and uses both scheming and means. It is hard for the officials in Yijinzhou to behave themselves, and the emperor is in even greater trouble.
Zhou Shuren said quietly, "So, the officials from both government departments in Pinggang must be regretting this."
Zhulan, ".......I guess you are regretting it so much that your intestines are turning green."
In the palace, the emperor issued an edict and had just finished dinner. Today the emperor ate with his five sons. After dinner.
The emperor asked Eunuch Liu, "Has the person who announced the decree returned?"
Eunuch Liu felt sympathy for the princes. The emperor had kept them for the whole afternoon. They were happy now, but they would be unhappy soon. "Yes, they have returned."
The four princes except the crown prince were worried. It was very unusual for their father to invite them to have dinner today, which showed that the decree he issued was not out of the ordinary either.
The emperor smiled and said, "Okay, that's all for today, you all can go back now."
The Crown Prince led his brothers out of the hall. After walking for a while, the Second Prince came forward and said, "Brother, no, Crown Prince, you have been with the Emperor all day, do you know what the decree is?"
The Crown Prince really knew. This matter started from the time when his father took over Jinzhou Prefecture, and Lord Zhou and the young masters of various families were trying to trick each other. His father watched it as amusement, and he was also lucky enough to watch it. He thought it would take Lord Zhou at least three or four months to take over Jinzhou Prefecture, but he did not expect it to be over in less than two months.
The reason was that Lord Zhou had to accompany his wife who was giving birth, so he sped up the process.
So, Lord Zhou quickened his pace, and my father also quickened his pace. Originally, my father had already written the decree and was preparing to announce it in the summer.
The prince couldn't stay with a few troublesome brothers, so he smiled, turned around and left. Anyway, he would know everything when he returned, so it didn't matter if he waited a little longer.
The Second Prince stared at the Crown Prince's back, the expression on his face almost breaking. He was angry and he knew it as soon as he saw the Crown Prince. He didn't know how the Crown Prince could win the favor of his father. He was jealous.
After returning to their respective governments, they all knew what the imperial decree was. Some even blurted it out. They had just given a warning, and then came this imperial decree. Great, but what a bullshit.
At the Crown Prince's Mansion, the Crown Prince stood in the courtyard looking at the moon in the sky. The garden was really big and garden-like today. A cool breeze blew through the cool garden, and the Crown Prince's somewhat fiery heart calmed down. Not only did his father not hide his actions this time from him, but he also pointed out the intention behind it to him. He must keep his original intention.
The prince sighed, saying that Lord Zhou was a living chess piece, and his father was using Lord Zhou to constantly perfect his net. Tomorrow morning, he would be the right vice minister of the Ministry of Revenue.
The next day, in Jinzhou Prefecture, Zhou Shuren had just arrived at the front when the deputy governor, Lord Wang, raised his eyebrows and said, "Lord Zhou, did you know that the house of Lord Li, the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, was confiscated today?"
Zhou Shuren suppressed the twitching of his lips and said, "Sir Wang, I know your father is a first-rank official, so there is no need to show off your well-informedness."
Zhou Shuren couldn't say that, "Lord Wang is well-informed, but although Jinzhou City is close to the capital, it will take a while for the express horse to arrive. Lord Wang, I admire you."
Wang Ju smiled dryly. He was so angry that he was childish and showed off. Fortunately, his master didn't know, otherwise, he really didn't want to be punished to kneel. "Master Zhou, you are joking. Oh, look at my memory. I have something else to do. How could I forget it?"
Zhou Shuren rolled his eyes in his heart and sat down to drink tea. He was not well-informed, but he could count. From yesterday's decree, he knew that the Emperor would find out the traitor in the Ministry of Revenue. He didn't expect it to be the Right Vice Minister.
Zhou Shuren was speechless. The Ministry of Revenue, it wasn't the Minister of Revenue who turned a blind eye. How could the Right Vice Minister keep it secret? It was because the Minister had received the emperor's order. How could these people think they could keep it secret?
In fact, everyone's actions were in the eyes of the emperor. Zhou Shuren felt very depressed. He pushed the emperor all night last night, and then realized that he had screwed himself. If he had known earlier, he would have come slowly, at least he could have accompanied Zhulan to give birth.
Now, the emperor has dealt with the right vice minister today. Just wait, he will soon issue an order to check the accounts. Once the maritime accounts are delivered, he can forget about having a rest. I really admire the emperor. He has everything planned out.
In the evening, Zhou Shuren returned home and saw the invitation on the table. "Whose is it?"
There will be an update at 9:30 pm
(End of this chapter)